Syrian tanks enter demilitarized zone in Golan Heights

Three Syrian tanks entered the demilitarized zone on the Golan Heights on Saturday afternoon.

The tanks, which were involved in heavy clashes with Syrian rebels, encroached the decades-old ceasefire agreement between Jerusalem and Damascus.

The vehicles entered Beit Ajam, which is close to an IDF position on the border. Earlier on Saturday, local residents near the Syrian border reported hearing heavy exchanges of fire between the Syrian army and rebels.

Israel lodged a complaint with the United Nations over the ceasefire violation. The defense establishment has concluded, however, that the tank movement is linked to the Syrian civil war and not intended as an act of aggression against Israel.

Nevertheless, the IDF raised its alert level in the Golan Heights region.

The Northern Command has been on the lookout for such a development since Syrian infighting approached the Israeli border several months ago. The Northern Command remains committed to a policy of zero-tolerance to challenges to Israeli sovereignty from Syria.http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=290323

Three Syrian tanks entered the demilitarized zone in the Golan Heights on Saturday, Israel said, raising concerns violence from Syria's civil war could heat up a long-quiet frontier that has not seen such an incursion in nearly 40 years.

Three tanks entered Golan DMZ for first time in 40 years,

Israel turned to U.N., which suggests tanks were not an immediate threat,

Golan Heights was captured from Syria in 1967,

Israel complained to U.N. peacekeepers present in the area, a relatively low-key response that suggested it did not see the Syrian armor as an immediate threat. But the entry marks the most serious spillover of Syria's turmoil to date at the frontier, where stray ordnance has exploded on the Israeli side in the past.

Neighboring countries are dealing with a variety of incidents linked to the conflict â€” Turkey exchanged artillery fire with Syria for a week last month, while Jordan has seen several shootings at the border and clashes linked to the uprising against President Bashar Assad have broken out in Lebanon.

Some in Israel worry that that if Assad goes, the country could fall into the hands of Islamic extremists or descend into sectarian warfare that would destabilizing the region. Islamic fighters â€” some from abroad â€” are increasingly taking part in key engagements alongside the rebels.

Inside Syria on Saturday for example, Islamic militants took part in a dawn assault on a strategic airbase in the north of the country. The attack, reported by activists, aimed to disrupt strikes by government warplanes and helicopters that are pounding rebel-held towns.

Anti-regime activist group The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the attack on the Taftanaz air base continued into the evening, although Syria's state-run SANA news agency said the fighting was over and government troops had repelled a "terrorist attack." The government considers the rebels terrorists and pawns in a foreign plot to destroy the country.

Fighters from Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda-inspired Islamic militant group made up of foreign jihadis, had joined in the assault, said the Observatory, which relies on reports from activists on the ground. Al-Nusra fighters, who are considered among the most experienced and disciplined among the forces fighting to topple Assad, have led attacks on other airbases in the north in recent months.

The three tanks entered the DMZ on Saturday and Israel lodged a complaint with the peacekeepers, an Israeli military spokeswoman said, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with military protocol. She did not elaborate on what the tanks were doing.

The Israeli news site Ynet said the tanks and two armored personnel carriers drove a few kilometers (miles) away from Israeli military positions.